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Just electrocuted myself while changing strings!

Perhaps his skin was aided by the thickness of his skull.

But, I have no room to talk! Here is my "Close Encounter" that didn't involve electricity.
I was restringing my Martin D-18 and eagerly bringing up to pitch, maybe a little too quickly. One of the higher strings snapped between the nut and the tuning post. The trajectory was an arc back past and over the bridge. The string planted it's tip straight down into the top. I had to use vice-grip pliers and tug a lot to remove it. I didn't loose an eye but I remind my self to keep my face out of the line of fire, especially now that I string double bass.

I had a friend that sliced his cornea while changing strings on his acoustic. I usually wear glasses when I change strings now.
 
I've learned a few things from this thread.

1. That was so effing rock and roll
2. Let trained electricians do electrical work
3. Watching other people taze themselves is hilarious and possibly a metaphor for the invasion of Ukraine
4. It's never a good idea to change bass strings, even if it's to step up to flats
5. Time to listen to some Zapp

Thanks for the entertainments
 
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Hey, Arc Flash Kid, ... I mean Swerve.

I suggest that you perform a few tests on yourself to confirm that there are no lingering effects from your experience.

For example, can you now see through solid objects? Have you developed super-strength? Are you able to hear what others are thinking? Invisibility? Instantly attractive to members of the opposite sex?

Of course I could be way off base here because you may already have exhibited most of these characteristics.
 
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Well there's a first time for everything I guess.

Was sitting on the edge of my bed removing some nickel rounds and replacing them with Fender ml flats on my P bass. Got to removing the G string and as I'm pulling it out the bottom of the ferrule the light in my bedroom goes out, I see a flash of fire in front of my face and felt immediate severe burning in my right hand. I screamed and leapt off the bed and out the door!

Ran out the room trying to figure what the heck just happened. My index finger and thumb are singed. So I go to the bathroom to run cold water under them.

Went back in the room with a flashlight on. I keep a 6 outlet surge protector on the floor near my bed to plug in a lamp and a phone charger. Apparently the ball end of the string touched or went into one of the 3 prongs on an open outlet and sent a current right through it.

After flipping the breaker everything came back on and nothing in the room was damaged. Just some sore burned fingers on my part and when I dropped the string it also burned part of my blanket.

Bass was fine, just covered in spit, apparently you drool when you get electrocuted. :drool:

Let this be a PSA, do NOT change your strings near any open electrical outlets. :woot:



View attachment 5370992

View attachment 5370993
You most likely had an Arc Fault Circuit Breaker in your panel that might of saved you
 
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You're supposed to ground the electronics to the plumbing in the basement...
Unless the plumbing is plastic like many new houses have now. Then it's grounded outside through a least one 8' ground rod.
Also, I haven't read through 6 pages of posts, and this may have already been mentioned, but in many locales here in the US, 120V outlets are now being installed with the ground (round contact) up, for the very reason you experienced. All hospitals here do now...or they should be that way now.
 
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That's wild, I never would have thought of that happening, glad you are ok. When I was in high school I was working on a riding mower and removed the throttle cable and put it aside. It ended up making contact with both the positive and negative poles of the battery. When I realized, without thinking, I tried to remove it and grabbed it. Burned the coil imprint of the cable into my finger, and the cable needed replaced, the inner cable was welded to the housing and wouldn't move anymore.
 
It happened something similar to me in 1996, I was studying the Leavitt - Berklee guitar book when I touched the desk light with my hand. I used to study guitar in the attic, my parents heard my scream from the garden. Luckily just a burn on my hand and no damage to my Gibson 335. I think it was a divine sign telling me to stop guitar and grab a bass.
 
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I have had to perform CPR on an electrician after he had a shock from 240v which is the mains voltage in Australia, he spent nearly 3 months in hospital from 3rd degree burns on his arms and face.
Please do not make statements about electric shock unless you have truly seen what it can do, mains voltage can be lethal and it can cause severe burns to the body.
415v 3 phase power is just 3 lots of 240 volts, thats the normal here down under in domestic and industrial situations. House power uses just one of the phases from the 3 phases available.
I once was blind and deaf for over 15 minutes when a 3 phase panel exploded in front of me, luckily I only had 1st degree burns that completely healed.
For the string to heat up like that one end would be at a high voltage and one end at a low voltage, he might have touched the high voltage side or the low voltage side (or both) or anywhere inbetween, we can not know.

that had to have been an arc flash injury, not a shock.
 
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